


Of Butterflies and Bandages

by drumrockstar21



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (not sorry), F/M, Gen, He's made to be broken, I always feel bad causing pain to the sunshine child, Maybe - Freeform, Reveal Fic, We'll see about the violence., and then fixed by Marinette, but it's just too easy, chat ate a thing, im sorry., maybe not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 18:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10724781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drumrockstar21/pseuds/drumrockstar21
Summary: Chat Noir without Ladybug is a recipe for disaster.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based off a prompt! The weekly ML prompt Tumblr, @weeklymleditprompts 
> 
> This was supposed to be a one shot! But I liked the first chapter too much! :D
> 
> The prompt was either Sacrifice or Destruction, so naturally I'll be combining the two.

Oh no. 

_Oh no._

_Where was Ladybug???_

A brightly red-headed woman, on her hands and knees, sat, breathing harshly in front of him.

He hadn't meant to break the akumatized object, her glasses. Eyes searching for Ladybug, they were met with the oranges and blues that were typical of a setting sky in Paris. He also caught the shimmering orange that matched the sky. Breathing with the woman, every few seconds it would shudder at her shaking breath. 

But there was no red and black. 

He snapped his head, his precise hearing picking up on the fluttering of blackened wings. They were supposed to be white by now! It's not like he could turn them white!

Maybe though...

Maybe he could buy some time. 

The akuma was being carried away by the wind, its wings easily taking it higher and higher. It had to be now; no time to think about it. 

He leapt, soaring dozens of feet higher than any normal human or even normal cat. 

The woman stabilized herself long enough to look up at Chat Noir. His form was framed against the final glimpses of light, the sun setting on him. She watched the butterfly that had caused all this still lingering destruction around her. She continued to fight back the tears at her own destruction, as the butterfly was swallowed into Chat Noir's own silhouette. 

His face, to be exact. 

When his darkened form fell from the dimming clouds above him, the insect had vanished completely. 

The woman looked at him in confusion, he looking back for just a second. 

He dropped to his knees without warning, clutching his mouth and throat. A strangled scream could be heard from his position. 

The terrified woman forgot her own torment, scrambling beside him. The tears she had been wrestling with began to flow unhindered. 

She had bigger issues now. 

"Chat Noir!" She screamed, hands hovering over him. When she looked him over, a violet light caught her eye. It flickered, as a glass orb filled with static electricity would, its light was only partially dimmed by his mouth. Every other second, a small lightning-like arc would flash across his cheek. 

Without thinking, she reached up to touch it. She drew back sharply when a small spark stung her finger. She hadn't even been within 6 inches of his cheek, her panicked thoughts shot at her. 

Every painful movement served to heighten her fear. Chat Noir and Ladybug had always been there to protect Paris. 

To protect _her._

Now, when they needed her help, she could only fall into her fear. 

It was disparaging, the fact she could do nothing. To sit on her heels next to Paris's literal savior was more than she could bear.

Chat's pain was obvious, he was practically writhing. With every second, he shook his body harder. His hand remained clamped firmly over his mouth, he wouldn't allow Ladybug to fail like with Stoneheart. He strengthened his resolve by telling himself this was necessary. 

That it would help her. 

If he didn't, the fight would be more difficult next time. The woman beside him would suffer again, along with other citizens. This was his job, his duty. 

It burned though, and shocked in the most painful sense. The tiny bolts arced through his teeth non-stop. His tongue felt like fire, it was that small sizzling and tingling sensation he felt in his hand with his Cataclysm, but now it was so much worse. 

It hurt so much worse. 

He barely registered the woman typing into her phone, in fact he barely registered anything other than the torturous shocks dancing over his cheeks and tongue to be honest. 

The only thing that drew his attention away from the devastating pain in his mouth was the sound of Mayor Bourgeois echoing across the City of Lights. 

"Ladybug! If you can hear this, _please_ go immediately to the building across from the police station on Saint-Martin street! It is imperative tha-" 

"AHHH-" Chat's voice interrupted. The message continued, but Chat and the akuma victim stopped listening. He hunched over for just a second before darting his head back up to the fluttering akuma. It was getting away! There was no way he could let it go, not after all he'd gone through. 

It felt like the pain was making its way down his throat, sliding down like an electrically charged gel. There was no thoughts running through his mind, his body acting on pure instinct. 

"Cataclysm!" He yelled out. His voice was harsher than normal, scraping like a Nirvana song. 

He leapt into the air again, making it halfway before he was knocked off course. Something like a stone had smashed into his face, he crashed to the rooftop as a result. Cracked tile flew everywhere from where his right hand touched down. 

The stone had been red though. 

Chat gritted his teeth to fight the pain, looking up from his spot on the building. A red flash shot out from his peripherals, snatching the barely visible butterfly out of the air. 

Letting out a sigh, he clutched his jaw as the cool air ran over his teeth. Like mint, it stung his teeth. Unlike mint, the pain continued into his aching jaw, tearing apart his nerves, and draining the adrenaline from his system. 

He couldn't even remember grabbing his jaw and screaming. His addled mind grasped at consciousness, only just staying inside of it. Ladybug hauled him on his feet, that much he remembered. 

Not fully aware of himself, and still groaning, he heard her speak. It was directed at the woman his mind had forgotten completely, and still was absent from his barely present mind. 

"Thank you." She said simply and honestly. He felt Ladybug shift as though embracing someone. He felt his body being supported by just her shoulder before another red arm stretched across his chest to hold him up. 

_'Thank you?'_ His mind said back, _'For what? I failed you.'_ His thoughts were stopped by another shot of pain in his face, it was spreading into his neck. He nearly fell over, holding his jaw. The fear of dropping into the street below was completely outweighed by the pain jolting his body. 

Ladybug practically dragged his shaking and writing form through Paris. She tried to avoid citizens as much as possible, not wanting to give the tabloids anymore fodder than Chat Noir usually gave them. 

Just three more blocks, and then she had to choose. 

_'There's no choice to be made.'_ Marinette thought, taking charge of her own anxious mind. _'Chat would never leave me alone like...this.'_

She gave off a shudder of her own, eyeing her crippled partner. It took most of her strength just to keep him from dropping while jumping between buildings. She didn't dare use the yo-yo, not even her Ladybug grace could take this on she feared. 

Chat's face had violet scorch marks criss-crossing it. They were all in the shape of lightning, and when put together, his face was covered in a patchwork of purple vein-like streaks. The same stitching of color had begun to work its way down his jawline and was creeping onto his neck. 

Whatever it was, she was worried if it got much further than that. His heart in particular concerned her, if it reached there, she feared it would spread rapidly through his bloodstream. 

He was clearly unconscious at this point, his whole body going limp. With a gasp she quickly checked his pulse. It wasn't as strong as she had hoped, but present nonetheless. 

Checking the street, Marinette dropped in front of the small massage parlor before scurrying inside with the corpse-like Chat Noir. She hadn't even realized his Miraculous was beeping until it had one minute left. 

One minute till everything changed. 

Her mind wavered, but as Master Fu rushed to her, Wayzz in tow, she resolved herself for the last time to stay. Her partner needed her, she hadn't been there for him for the akuma fight.

Like _hell_ was she going to leave him now.


	2. Barely There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unconscious Adrien is unconscious. Then conscious. Rinse and repeat.

Voices broke into his darkness. 

_"What do you mean maybe?!"_ Shrieked a dulled female voice. Everything sounded like he was underwater. 

Another voice, male and much more reserved, replied. _"I mean exactly that. I am certainly a more skilled healer than most, but nothing is ever guaranteed. Especially in this case...his condition is extremely precarious."_

Darkness began to bubble around his mind again, it sank slowly. He nearly drifted back into the warm, blackened water. 

The girl spoke again before he could though, voice having lost its piercing tone. It was suddenly quieter and forlorn. _"I can't do this. This is all my fault...Please."_ The voice began sobbing desperately, _"Please I can't be Ladybug without him...I won't be."_

His mind was enveloped again by the dull darkness. Seemingly a second later, he woke up gasping for air. The conversation he had overheard quickly to slip from his mind's grasp like a confusing dream. 

A man leaned over him, and he abruptly felt each inch of his sweaty skin. Every part of him felt on edge, everything but his head which felt clouded and groggy. 

He tried to fight off the sedating numbness that had gripped his mind. Not understanding the situation, and too incoherent to pay the older man any attention, he attempted to sit up. 

A hand which he couldn't see pressed against his chest, and he couldn't quite grasp why he wasn't able to sit up. All he knew was that he was still on his back. He tried again, this time only moving his head. The third time he couldn't even move that. 

He noticed a pale color covering 90% of his vision, but his barely functioning mind didn't know where it began or ended let alone what it even was. 

Finally his addled mind stopped fighting, for just a second. That was enough for him to lose his grasp on consciousness once again. As soon as his brain realized it was slipping, it fought and kicked his thoughts to wake up, but was already too far gone. 

 

Without warning he awoke again. His jaw was sore. That was the only thought that he could possibly have. There simply was no room for anything more than that. Between his incoherent thoughts and the sheer size of the pain his mind was processing, it was a miracle he was awake now. 

He felt an ice cold hand grip on his forearm. Wanting to look at it, he found that he lacked the strength to turn. Not restrained, but rather just too weak, was his head. 

His cheeks began to burn. They were fairly feverish, having escalated while he had been focused on just who the person next to him could be. He abruptly realized that it wasn't the hand that was cold, but his arm that was blazing hot; the rest of him matching. 

Again he attempted to move, this time his left arm that was held by a hand. Again his efforts failed and this time he wasn't sure if he was unable to move it, or the person was holding him down. 

His mouth suddenly was filled with pain. It went through him so sharp that he felt like his head would split open completely. Spots dotted his vision, and his mentality wavered under the immense and weight of the pain. 

He involuntarily moved his legs. Shifting became writhing and his legs squirmed while his torso remained relatively unmoved. A voice like ringing steel called out. It felt so loud to him that he couldn't make out what it had said. 

Before he could think through the mounting pain, a face he felt was familiar filled his vision. A light hit his currently-hypersensitive eyes, and it was then he realized his eyelid was being held open. 

The gentle hum the man...doctor?...had let off sounded like a sonic boom in his eardrums. He could feel his blood pumping through his ears, his hands were clammy and the rest of his body felt uncomfortably warm. 

When a cool hand ran across his neck, he was startled. The hand hadn't been expected, sure, but the shocker was that his normally smooth skin was now covered in, what his brain registered as, wrinkles. 

They were small, but felt massive along his skin. Each one was puffed out, like popping veins. Crisscrossing each other, they formed a netlike pattern on his neck. As the hand moved up his jaw, he didn't attempt to stop the sharp intake of breath. It brought him back from the haziness he hadn't realized his mind was sinking into. 

The returning awareness brought forward the sensation of his irregular breathing. It threatened to overpower his other senses, only the cool of the hand was grounding him. 

With every inch the delicate fingers moved up his face, he felt more and more of the strange wrinkles being traced. At some point he felt the hand tighten. It wasn't around him, but rather brushing against, his skin. It gave an aura of helpless frustration. Of emotional pain, due to his own physical pain. 

In a half-broken state, his mind illogically told him this was Ladybug's hand. He could bring no prove of this, nor could he pinpoint what had led him to that conclusion. It just simply was a fact to his crippled mind. A third croak-like voice reverberated through his body. It shook his body with strain, and Adrien didn't know how someone's voice could do that to him. 

"L-ladybug." It said, gravelly and drained. 

Another voice was quick to respond. It was excruciatingly loud in Adrien's ears, but this time he could clearly understand the words. 

"I'm here Ch-" 

The voice hesitated. Stopping completely. Adrien felt himself draining out again, losing his senses one by one. 

He felt a soft pressure place itself down on his forehead, and something small and malleable brush his nose. Just for a second before his mind, in the midst of passing out, shut off his sense of touch. 

His eyes closed of their own accord, the preferred way for his subconsciousness to turn off eyesight. Just as he was about to lose his hearing, the voice came into his mind peacefully. It was gentle, and finally eased him into a steady breathing. It was just right to where he would fall asleep any second. 

"I'm here Adrien." Ladybug promised.


	3. Awaken!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien wakes up and wakes others up as well.

Air. 

_Air._

_NEED._

The world was a blur when Adrien's eyes opened. Not a second later though, he was looking around a small low lit room. He sat for a moment to gain his bearings. 

_'Dark room. Sitting up on a floor. Traditional Chinese decorations.'_

When Adrien's breath slowed from the rapid pace he had woken up with, he began to look closer to the room. It wasn't very big, only just holding in the few cabinets, mats, and scattered bowls around him. 

A shadow sat next to him. The more he focused on it, the less he knew what it might be. He moved to touch it. 

He couldn't move his arm. 

Not only that, but he realized his arm had been numb since he woke up. It felt like he had accidentally slept on it, but it still wouldn't wake up. Then when he made a rueful grimace, he couldn't feel his mouth!

_'What is going on!?'_ He thought. 

Plagg!

Where could he be?! This entire situation was looking more and more dire. Almost like he had been kidnapped and drugged. For all he knew in that moment, that might have been the case. Hawkmoth must have gotten him after he was badly injured. 

There's no other explanation. His arm was held down, he felt drugged, and he couldn't find his kwami. Nothing else made sense to his still groggy mind. 

Breathing became manual again. He had to get up, to find a way out of here. Within seconds Adrien was returned to his near-frenzied state. He couldn't decide what to do first so instead he panicked like a trapped animal. 

The restraint.

With a great deal of effort, Adrien pulled his right arm across his lap. His arm felt wobbly when he tried to move it, like he only had minimal control of it. Twisting his fingers around his elbow, he let them slide down his forearm, to his wrist. 

_'That must be where the strap is.'_

He couldn't feel the strap due to the whatever numbing drug was in him. The point where his arm was held though was on his left wrist. The only thing he was focused on would be unloosing the restraint. Hand stopping, he only barely had caught the lump that was wrapping up his wrist. 

Frustratingly, his sense of touch stubbornly refused to return. He moved his wrist over the restraint several times, trying to find the release. It was only when his arm pushed against a small wall-like object that he stopped. 

Especially when the wall moved. 

It wiggled of its own accord and with all the curiosity of a cat, Adrien refocused on straightening his arm out. Once he did so, he pushed his entire body forward, prodding the shadowy object. 

"Mmhmmmhuumm." 

Adrien's head nearly spun around, startled and searching for the noise's source. Finally he resettled his gaze on the lump beside him. 

' _It must be coming from there.'_ He thought obtusely. 

_Push._

The inky object shifted slightly, making a similar noise. Adrien could halfway tell that it was his wrist pushing into something. It was cushiony, but backed up by something more solid. 

_Push._

" _Uahhh_."It said, and it made Adrien's eyes widen. 

That's. A. Girl. 

Suddenly finding it difficult to swallow, Adrien let the horror of what he just did sink in. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what just happened. 

Heck, any boy over the age of 13 could figure it out. 

The noise that the lump just made was so _sensual_ that there was no doubt in his mind now. There was a girl attached to his arm and he had just made her _moan._

One of the pulses in the room began beating faster than a train without brakes. One of those pulses still had painkillers in its bloodstream. One of those body's began to feel the edges of pain seep into his muscles again. 

Adrien began to writhe. Squirming around, he could now feel the way a pair of forearms pressed his hand to a girl's chest. Touch sensation was returning at just the wrong moment. 

For who-knows-how-long, the pain could be ignored. He had to figure out wh-

' _Ladybug.'_ His brain quickly supplied. Without hesitation he accepted it as fact. 

"Ladybug." Adrien said quietly into the darkness. 

"Mmmmmm, _Adrien_." The girl moaned in reply. If it were even possible, she clutched his arm tighter into her torso. 

With a mild amount of shame, Adrien felt the shiver run down him at the sound of his own name. An uncomfortableness that had nothing to do with akumas and everything to do with butterflies settled into his stomach. 

The akuma uncomfortableness seemed to be making headway though. Adrien tightened his jaw, feeling the unfortunately familiar acidic taste that kept prefacing the shots of pain. 

"Ladybugggggg." He said through gritted teeth. The blanket-covered girl finally woke up when it was Adrien moaning her name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna be straight with ya here. I was not expecting this chapter to take this sort of turn. It got me too fam.


End file.
